Scenes of carnage, nuclear annihilation and humans in the throws of addiction is what one may see in the work by photographer Daniela Edburg. But if you look closer you will also find her finely crafted and visual cleverness creates a sympathetic vision of the darker side of human nature.

Daniela’s work addresses a world on the verge of destruction on both the micro and macro level. Using jolting imagery, wit and and beautifully crafted scenes the user is is invited on a journey takes us from shock to sympathy. Her photography beautifully surface the ills of modern society and the it’s never ending production of reckless ego’s feeding on self destructive behavior. She makes the warning clear, if we are willing to accept the message.

Valentines Day, Photography by Daniela Edburg

The images have a initial shock value especially the slaughtered bodies in the “Remains of the Day” series, but as you look closer her work contains details that evolve the shock into a grin. What appear to be organs disposed from people’s bodies, in fact are sewn items, jello or pieces of ham. In one photo a woman vomits a knitted stream flying from her mouth.

I appreciate Daniela’s fearless conviction and truth to her vision in handling these complicated themes.

What first attracted you to photography as opposed to another medium?
I tried many other mediums before photography, sculpture, engraving, painting. When I used photography I got the best results.

The theme of death is prominent in your work, how and when did this first surface in your work?
It is always a constant, for me death is the extreme situation that defines our nature as humans. All the particularities of our artificial lifestyle are marked by our knowledge of having a limited time on earth.

What is most important to you that your art communicates?
I am very interested in turning an eye to the contradictions in human nature, to the intricate artificiality we inhabit.

Pill Popper, Photography by Daniela Edburg

Whether it is the bomb sweater, or a yarn streaming from a woman’s mouth, your use of yarn and knitting in your works is clever and original. What inspired you to incorporate it into your work?
The first photo I used knitting for was “Party Girl” i used the knitting for the creation of a safe place in the midst of a desolate environment. The knitting then became for me a form of therapy and an obsession so I started using it in many m ore photographs becoming the center point of my work.

Your work has been displayed all over the world. Have you found different cultures respond to your work differently?
In general I try to use visual referents that are common in occidental imagery, in cinema, literature and so on. For this reason I think that with other work, like the knitter series, people in Europe, North and Latin America people respond similarly.

In the case of the series entitled The remains of the day, some people have found the images grotesque, which they are if you take a closer look, but this reaction is mainly abroad, in México we have a more lighthearted relationship to death.

How much planning and preparation is involved in creating your work? Does the vision come and then you execute it as you imagined, or does the vision evolve during the process of creating the photograph?
I usually know what I want in my head before I set out to do it, things define themselves as I go along so I try to be flexible and follow my intuition during the pre production phase, by the time I’m shooting it’s all defined, I don’t try different things on the day of the shoot, I know exactly what I want it to be. I can take a week to do a photo or up to a year (in the case of The Bride).

What is something important you have learned in life?
To be conscious of what I like to do and how i like to do it. I still have a hard time in other areas, but at least professionally I’ve learned how to say no.